Reversing mechanism.



Patented Dec. 3|, |901.

G. C. HENNING.-

REVERSING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Feb, 26, 1901.)

(No Modem STATES NrTn' GUSTAVUS C. HENNING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

REVERSING MECHANISIVI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,879, dated December31, 1901.

application filed February 26, 1901. Serial No. 48,876. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, GUsrAvUs C. HENNING, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inReversing Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to reversinggearing for reaction orturbine engines, the object of the invention being to reverse thedirection of rotation of a shaft which is driven from aprogressively-rotatin g member or shaft of said engine.

The invention consists of features of construction and combinations ofdevices hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In its general organization the invention includes two shafts, anendwise-movable rotatory member geared to said shafts when one shaft isto drive the other in one direction and disconnected from at least oneshaft when the driven shaftis to rotate in the reverse direction,connected gears shiftable endwise into and out of mesh with gears onsaid shafts as said member is moved to disconnect and connect saidshafts, the whole being arranged to drive the second shaft in reversedirections from the first shaft, whose direction of motion remainsunchanged, or said connected gears may be shiftable otherwise thanendwise. In the preferred form of the invention the two'shafts arealined with each other and have gears fast thereon, and theendwise-movable memberis in the form of a rotatory sleeve having theadjacent ends of said shafts journaled therein and is provided withinternal gears for coaction with gears on said shafts to couple theshafts together directly, while the endwise-shiftable connected gearsare mounted on shaftin g which is parallel with the alined shafts and ismoved endwise to carry said connected gears into and out of mesh withgears on said alined shafts whenever one of the internal gears on saidsleeve is disengaged from and rengaged with a gear on one of said alinedshafts, the sleeve being connected to and moving with said shaftingsimultaneously.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aside elevation. partly in section, the view being taken on the planesindicated in Fig. l by the line 2 2. Fig. 3 is an end View, partly7 insection,on the planes indicated in Fig. 2 by the line 3 3; and Fig. 4 isa view from the right in Fig. l, the View being partly in section on theplane indicated by line 4 4.

The same reference character will be used to designate the same part inall the figures of the drawings.

The reference character d indicates a suitable bed and framing, and l) ctwo alined shafts journaled in frame a and in a sleeve d, which is alsojournaled in frame ct. Either of the shafts b c may be the driver andthe other the driven shaft, a reaction or turbine engine preferablybeing employed to drive the progressively-rotatingdriver-shaft. (Enginenot shown.) The shaft i) is shown as the drivershaft and shaft c as thedriven shaft, there being a thrust-bearing e for the shaft o, wherebythat-shaft is adapted to act as a propellershaft in a boat or othervessel.

f designates a gear (sometimes having the function of a ribbed andgrooved male clutch member) which is fast on the shaft b; g, a ribbedand grooved male clutch member fast on the shaft c; 7L, a spur-gear faston said shaft c; tj, ribbed and grooved female clntchmclnbers formed onor attached to the sleeve (Z and adapted to engage with the male clutchmembers f g.

By preference the member-j is of a length such that it is neverdisengaged from the member g whatever be the position of the sleeve d,though the membert' is disengaged from the gear or member fwhen thesleeve CZ has been moved sufficiently far in one direction as to thelimit of its motion in said direction. Vhen the members ft' are in meshwith each other, the shaft b drives the shaft c directly through thesleeve d, the members jg being in mesh with each other, as will beunderstood.

it Z are tWo parallel shafts mounted in the framework Ct to have endwisemotion and are connected together at their ends bythe crossheads my,which are secured in place by shoulders, collars, nuts, and washers. TheshaftZ has motion of rotation, and the shaft 7c may also have suchmotion. The shaft 7.: has a Fig. 2isaplan,

IOO

o z by means of an antifriction-roller.

wide-faced gear 71. mounted thereon to move endwise therewith and freeto rotate independently if shaft Zr does not rotate and fast on theshaft if the latter rotates, and the shaft 5 Zhas two gear-wheels o p(shown as being equal) fast thereon. The gear 0 meshes continuously withthe gear n, while gearp sometimes is in mesh'with the gear h and atother times lies between the. parts g h, touching 1o neither,-accordingas the shafts 7c Zarein one or the other of the limits of their endwisemotion. When the said shafts 7o Z and sleeve d are at the limit of theirendwise motion to the right iuFig. 2, the member t' is out of mesh withthe gear f, (clutch member,) and the gearn is in mesh with the gear f,and the gear p is in mesh with the gear h, and shaft b drives the shaftc through the train o`f gears f/n 0 jp Z7. and shaft Z in a directionthe reverse 2o of that in which it drives the shaft c when theparts arein the positions thereof shown in the drawings.

Suitable means are provided for moving the frame composed of the shafts7t- Z and heads m to and fro-as, for example, hydrau- 3o the pressurebehind the rams is controlled byV a suitable cock at s, which releasesthe pressure behind one ram as it turns it on behind the other.

By preference the sleeve-OZ is connected to the shafts 7c Z, to be movedendwise simultaneously therewith, as by means of the collars t on saidshafts and a block u, which fits into a circumferential groove u in thesleeve CZ and which has jaws fitting against the shafts 4o k Z andbetween the collars tthereomas shown. ,The block o is made in` partswhich are bolted together.

The driven shaft may have a brake device connected therewith, as abrake-wheel w, fast on the shaft c, a strap 5c, surrounding the wheel wand having one end fast to the frame a, and a lever y, fulcrumed betweenits ends and connected at one end to the strap fr and having its otherend resting on ahydraulic ram ram raises the le'ver and applies thebrake, as will be understood. The pressure behind the ram is controlledin any suitable way. The brake serves to hold the driven shaft steady7 lduring the shifting of the sleeve cZ and other parts and is especiallyuseful when the shaft c carries a propeller or so.

While the shaft b has been described as the progressively-revolvingdriver-shaft and the 6o shaft cas the reversely-driven shaft, it isobvious that this arrangement may be reversed without necessitating anychange whatever in the arrangement of the parts or in the mode ofoperation, except change of location 55 of the brake device when thatdevice is used or required.

The operation is as follows: When the parts are in the positions shownin Figs. l and 2, the shaft b drives the shaft c directly through thesleeve CZ in the same direct-ion as it itself moves, the clutchesf andgj being in mesh and gearsfnA and hp being out of mesh. By sliding theshafts Z: Z and the sleeve cZ to the right in Figs. l and 2 to the limitof their motion in that direction the clutch membert' is moved out ofmesh with gearf and gears fn p are moved into mesh with the gearsfh, andthe motion of rotation of the shaft b is transmitted to the shaft c byway of the gears fn op Zz and the shaft Z, and the shaft c is driven inthe reverse direction at the same speed as or at a rate of speeddiffering from 'that of shaft b, according to the proportions of ltheintervening gears, the proportions shown in the drawings giving equalspeeds.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

l. The combination of a progressively-moving driver-shaft, a secondshaft which it is desired to drive in either direction, gears on saidshafts, an endwise-movable member geared with said shafts anddisconnectible byits endwise motion from at least one of said shafts,means for moving said member endwise, and gea-rs moved endwise by saidmeans into and out of mesh with gears on saidF driver and driven shaftsas said member uncouples and couples said driver and driven shafts, subvstantially as described.

2. The combination of two independent alined shafts, gears thereon, arotatable endwise-movable sleeve surrounding said shafts and providedwith internal teeth or ribs for coaction with ribs or teeth on saidshafts, said sleeve when moved in one direction being disconnected fromat least one of said shafts, endwise-movable shafting,l gears carriedthereby for coaction with gears on said alined shafts, and connectionsbetween said shafting and said sleeve for causing simul-V taneous motionthereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination of two independent alined shafts, gears thereon, arotatable endwise-movable sleeve surrounding said shafts and providedwith internal ribs or -teeth for coaction with ribs or teeth on saidshafts, said sleeve being disconnected from at least one of said shaftswhen at one limit of its endwise motion, endwise-movable parallelgearedshafts connected to and moving endwise simultaneously with said sleeve,and gears on said parallel shafts for coaction with gears on said alinedshafts, the arrangement being such that the said parallel shafts aregeared with the driver and driven shafts when the sleeve is not coupledwith both of them, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a progressively-mov-v ing driver-shaft, a secondshaft which it is desired to drive in either direction, said shaftsbeing in line with each other, ribbed and grooved clutch members forconnecting said shafts whereby the second shaft is driven in onedirection, adjustable toothed l@gearing` for connecting said shafts tocanse the first to drive the second in the reverse direction, and abrake mechanism for the second shaft, substantially as described.

5. The combination of two independent alined shafts, gears thereon, arotatable end- Wise-inovable sleeve in which an end of each of saidshafts is jonrnaled, internal teeth or ribs rigid with said sleeve forcoaction with teeth or ribs on said shafts, said sleeve beingdisconnected from at least one of said shafts when at one limit of itsendwise motion, connected endWise-movable gears for coaction with gearson said shafts, and means for moving;` said sleeve and said connectedgears to and fro axially thereof, substantially as described.

6. The combination of two alined shafts independent of each other, gearsthereon, a journaled sleeve movable endwise in its bearings and providedwith internal teeth for C0- action With gear teeth or ribs 0n saidshafts and said shafts being journaled cach at ono end in said sleeve,and said sleeve being disconnected by its endwise motion from at leastone of said shafts whereby the sleeve and disconnected shaft may rotateindependently of each other, endWise-movable sha'fting provided Withgears for coaction with gears on said alined shafts, and connectionsbetween said s'hafting and said sleeve for causing simultaneous motionthereof endwise, substantially as described.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of NenT York,this 23d day of February, A. D. 1901.

GUS. C. HENNING.

Witnesses:

J. L. KonNIcKnR, R. W. BARKLEY.

